PARIS — French comics artist Jean Giraud, known by fans from Hollywood to Japan as Moebius and the creator of unsettling, eye-opening fantasy worlds in print and on film, has died at 73.

Publishing house Dargaud announced the death in a statement and hailed “one of the greatest artists of world comic art.” France’s Europe-1 radio said he died Saturday after a long illness, according to his family, but no other details were announced.

Giraud worked on several Hollywood films including “Alien,” “Tron” and “The Fifth Element” and was a co-founder of U.S. comics magazine Heavy Metal in 1975.

Born in 1938, he first found success with the “Blueberry” western series in France in the 1960s before moving into science fiction. He worked under his real name as well as the pseudonym Gir but was best known as Moebius. He won several awards through his career.